Editing Shamgar

{{Short description|Individual named in the Book of Judges}}
{{About|the biblical figure|the current-day Israeli judge|Meir Shamgar}}
{{Infobox person
| image       = Speculum Darmstadt 2505 31r Sangor.jpg
| image_size  = 250px
| caption     = Medieval depiction of Shamgar
| nationality = Unclear; possibly Israelite, Canaanite, or both
| predecessor = [[Ehud]]?
| successor   = [[Deborah]]?
| other_names = 
| spouse      = 
}}

'''Shamgar''', son of Anath ({{langx|he|{{Script/Hebrew|שַׁמְגַּר}}}} ''Šamgar''), is the name of one or possibly two individuals named in the [[Book of Judges]]. The name occurs twice:
#at the first mention, Shamgar is identified as a man who repelled [[Philistine]] incursions into [[Israelite]] regions, and slaughtered 600 of the invaders with an [[ox goad]] ([[Judges 3:31]]);<ref>{{bibleverse||Judges|3:31|HE}}</ref>
#the other mention is within the [[Song of Deborah]], where Shamgar is described as having been one of the prior rulers, in whose days roads were abandoned, with travelers taking winding paths, and village life collapsing ([[Judges 5:6]]).<ref>{{bibleverse||Judges|5:6|HE}}</ref>

Unlike the descriptions of Biblical Judges, the first reference to Shamgar has no introduction, conclusion, or reference to the length of reign,<ref name=Peake>''[[Peake's Commentary on the Bible]]''</ref> and it is not said that he judged Israel.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Shamgar {{!}} Encyclopedia.com |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/shamgar |access-date=2024-08-10 |website=www.encyclopedia.com |archive-date=2022-12-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221205043159/https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/shamgar |url-status=live }}</ref> The subsequent text<ref>{{bibleverse||Judges|4|HE}}</ref> follows on directly from the previous narrative.<ref name=JE>{{JewishEncyclopedia|article=Shamgar|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=546&letter=S|author=[[Emil G. Hirsch]], [[George A. Barton]]}}</ref> In several ancient manuscripts this reference to Shamgar occurs after the accounts of [[Samson]] rather than immediately after the account of [[Ehud]], in a way that is more narratively consistent; some scholars believe that this latter position is more likely to be the passage's original location.<ref name=JE /><ref name=Peake />
{{Judges}}
The act of this Shamgar is similar to that of ''[[Shammah]], son of Agee'', mentioned in the ''appendix'' of the [[Books of Samuel]] as being one of ''[[King David's Warriors|The Three]]'', a distinct group of warriors associated with [[David|King David]].<ref name="Losch2008">{{cite book|author=Richard R. Losch|title=All the People in the Bible: An A-Z Guide to the Saints, Scoundrels, and Other Characters in Scripture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j9db9kGwG3MC&pg=PA394|date=13 May 2008|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=978-0-8028-2454-7|page=394}}</ref> Scholars are not certain as to whether the same individual was originally meant, and that the passage in the book of Judges was later moved to its present location, or whether each of the two figures were different heroes.<ref name="Losch2008" /> Scholars also believe that the name of the individual may originally have been ''Shammah'', and became corrupted under the influence of the ''Shamgar'' in the Song of Deborah.<ref name=JE /> The term usually translated as ''oxgoad'' is a biblical [[hapax legomenon]],<ref name=Peake /> the translation into English being made on the basis of the [[Septuagint]]'s translation into Greek.

The other mention of Shamgar, that in the Song of Deborah, connects Shamgar with a low period of Israelite society.

''[[The Jewish Encyclopedia]]'' suspects him of having been a foreign oppressor of the Israelites, rather than an Israelite ruler.<ref name=JE /> From the form of the name, it is suspected that Shamgar may actually have been a [[Hittites|Hittite]], a similar name occurring with [[Sangara (King)|Sangara]], a Hittite king of [[Carchemish]]; more recent scholars hold that the name is of [[Hurrian]] origin and may well be ''Šimig-ari''.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Judges 1: A Commentary on Judges 1:1 Ð 10:5 |last1=Smith |first1=Mark S. |publisher=Fortress Press |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-5064-8049-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_HwqEAAAQBAJ&dq=shamgar+etymology&pg=PT486 |last2=Bloch-Smith |first2=Elizabeth M. |access-date=2022-07-29 |archive-date=2023-04-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230426010930/https://books.google.com/books?id=_HwqEAAAQBAJ&dq=shamgar%20etymology&pg=PT486 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Bible also indicates that he was the "son" of ''[[Anath]]'' (the name of a [[Canaanite religion|Canaanite]] deity). In recent years, arrowheads bearing the names ''ben-anat'' and Aramaic ''bar anat'', dating from the 11th to 7th centuries BC, have been discovered.<ref>{{Cite book |title=New Inscriptions and Seals Relating to the Biblical World |last1=Lubetski |first1=Meir |publisher=Society of Biblical Lit. |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-58983-557-3 |pages=6–8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zqiEktf1IwEC&dq=arrowheads+ben+anat&pg=PA8 |last2=Lubetski |first2=Edith |access-date=2022-07-29 |archive-date=2023-04-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230426010953/https://books.google.com/books?id=zqiEktf1IwEC&dq=arrowheads+ben+anat&pg=PA8 |url-status=live }}</ref> This has led several recent scholars to theorize that the expression "son of Anath" probably designates a [[warrior]] title.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Judges 1: A Commentary on Judges 1:1 Ð 10:5 |last1=Smith |first1=Mark S. |publisher=Fortress Press |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-5064-8049-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_HwqEAAAQBAJ&dq=shamgar+arrowheads+bin+anat&pg=PT487 |last2=Bloch-Smith |first2=Elizabeth M. |access-date=2022-07-29 |archive-date=2023-04-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408113726/https://books.google.com/books?id=_HwqEAAAQBAJ&dq=shamgar+arrowheads+bin+anat&pg=PT487 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Gershom]]

==References and citations==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-bef|before = [[Ehud]]}}
{{s-ttl|title = [[Biblical judges|Judge of Israel]]}}
{{s-aft|after = [[Deborah]] and  [[Barak]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Book of Judges people]]
[[Category:Hebrew Bible judges]]
[[Category:Massacres in the Bible]]
[[Category:Anat]]
[[Category:Heroes in mythology and legend]]
[[Category:Warriors]]
[[Category:Hurrian people]]